Better Off Lead

Everyone knows how critical it is to shield the little ones from the perils of plumbum (a.k.a. lead), found in the form of chipping paint, contaminated tap water, and most toys made in China. But now, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there's a new scapegoat that has some libraries and resellers worried: classic children's books.

According to Congressional legislation passed last year, lead content in products designed for kids younger than 12 must not exceed 300 parts per million (by weight). This affects toys, bikes -- and yes, that well-worn copy of Madeleine that you found in your grandmother's attic 30 years ago and held onto for your own perusing progeny.

You don't have to worry about those nice new editions you see gleaming on the shelves at Barnes and Noble or Borders -- your kid can suck on those babies like there's no tomorrow. But there may be no tomorrow if they chaw down on copies printed before 1985 from your local library or Goodwill distributor, since the toxic metal may still be found within their possibly poisoned pages.

I'm a little worried, since I had a slight case of pica as a kid in the '70s and would meticulously tear off the corners of every page I read and secretly ingest them. It was a wonderful, iron-deficiency-fueled childhood guilty pleasure. What a relief to know I can now blame my brain damage on my penchant for paper instead of all those Dr. Pepper's and Alabama Slammers I drank in college.
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